Innocence of a Child
by xpoetxofxthexmoon
Summary: The Cetra forced her to take the enemy under her wing and to help him, at least, that's what she would tell anyone who found out. -Yuffie x Kadaj-
1. The Beginning

Disclaimer: I do not claim to own anything in this fan fiction. They belong to their respected owners. If you think I do own this, then I will have Two Guns shoot you in the ass. :]  
Pairing: Kadaj/Yuffie.  
Warning: AU. Very Fluffy and innocent. Mentions of blood and violence, not much besides you will probably have to be on crack to understand it.  
Summary: The Cetra forced her to take the enemy under her wing and to help him, at least, that's what she would tell anyone who found out.

* * *

..::One of Three::..

..::Innocence of a Child::..

* * *

_"Just take care of him."_

The girl heard the Cetra's voice echo through her head as she gripped the large weapon in her hand, eyes focused on the body laying a short distance away from her. She noted how his short silver locks covered his pale face, his eyes closed in a gentle manner, his body lay almost motionless - the only movement coming from a shot of pain that would rage through his body, his muscles would then flinch from the agony he found himself in. Her chocolate brown orbs slowly trailed over his fallen form, noting how his clothing was ripped and tattered, one of his jet-black leather gloves missing. She found herself cringing a bit before she spoke aloud to the woman in the Lifestream. "But Aerith... isn't he supposed to be dead?"

_"Yes,"_ the pink clothed woman's voice giggled. _"However he is just a child, much like yourself. Don't you think he deserves a second chance?"_

"But," she kept her eyes focused on the boy, "he's one of Sephiroth's insects or whatever. That makes him evil."

_"When have you ever listened to Cloud,"_ the voice spoke in a serious tone. _"Besides... Kadaj is not evil, he's just... confused."_

"Right," the girl mumbled. "Because when the good guys get confused, they bring back the big bad guy and try to destroy the world."

_"Yuffie Kisaragi!"_

"What?" She whined a bit before sighing, "Fine, Aerith, I'll take care of him, but if he tries to kill me, you're so taking him back!"

_"Deal,"_ Aerith giggled. _"Now I'll leave you to tend to his wounds."_

"Wait!"

Aerith's voice questioned curiously, _"What is it?"_

"Tell Zack I said Hi..." She answered with a light sigh, "and tell him to stop you from contacting me anymore about taking care of the baddies!"

_"Yeah, yeah." _The voice jokes, _"Just do as I say, like the great ninja you are."_

The little ninja smiled softly as she felt the connection to the Lifestream disconnect, her expression twisting to a frown as she turned her gaze to the silver not far away. She let out a small sigh as she gripped the strap to her messenger bag, starting over to the young male's broken and bleeding form. She felt a ping in her heart, she almost felt bad for the young silver, who had more or less been used by Sephiroth in some odd sense - she only learned this after Tifa explained to her that Vincent didn't mean that Kadaj was actually a insect. She could hardly imagine what was going to happen when the boy woke up, feeling a bit of dread.

"Just don't kill me when you wake up, alright?" She knelt down beside him, unzipping her bag and beginning to pull out the medical supplies inside, lining them up next to her. Once everything was out in the open, she turned her attention back to the silver haired boy and gently grabbed the zipper to his oddly leather outfit. Heat raised to her cheeks as she pulled it down to about his waist, carefully undressing his top half like a nervous child - only pausing when the boy would flinch or cringe. Her chocolate orbs scan over his very thin and wounded frame; there was no doubt in her mind, now that she had honestly gotten a good look at the villain, that he was very close to her age. "Poor guy."

"M-mother," a weak voiced whispered, causing the young ninja's gaze to snap up to the pale boy's face with surprise. His green cat-like orbs opened slightly, surprising the girl who could help but wonder how in gaia that he was even awake with these injures. Then again, she figured, he did die and was now laying in front of her, very much alive. He seemed just full of surprises, either that or Aerith is working to make her look like a moron; probably some sick Cetra revenge for the stealing of Materia. "Mo - "

"No way," she spoke quickly. "I'm not a mother, especially to you!"

"Wh - "

"Kadaj, just be quiet," the girl huffed a bit, although soon regretting it when she remembered just who this was. "I mean, you're still wounded and weak, you need to rest."

"Ho-how did you kn-know my na-name?" He questioned the girl in a low tone, completely ignoring her request. "Wh-who are yo-you?"

"You need to relax for a minute, so I can get you fixed up," the ninja replied swiftly while ignoring his questions. "I need you to close your eyes and keep your mouth shut, get some rest if possible. Can ya do that for me, Kadaj?"

He closes his eyes slowly, nodding. "... yes... I can..."

"That's a boy," she grinned before quickly cleaning the wounds while trying not to farther his discomfort from them. Much to her surprise, he only flinched a few times, even when she was dressing his wounds. However, when she turned back to her bag, starting to dig through it once more, she felt a shift in the air but ignored it. She knew there was little the boy could do to her at the moment, he could hardly even move let alone attack her. She found a pair of Cloud's jeans and an old long sleeved shirt, both items he hadn't wore in months, which was why she picked them out. She only brought them because of Aerith, who told her to bring something for a male to wear, then go to the location that she now was in. Shifting her gaze over to the male, she noticed him attempting to sit up. "Whatcha doing, buddy?"

"What's that for?"

"For you to change into," she answered the boy who seemed to love ignoring her. "What you're in is nothing but rags now, these are clean and will keep you nice and warm!"

"Right."

She grinned at the nodding boy; "Can you sit up for me, big guy?"

"Like this?"

"Yup," she gave the now sitting boy a light nod. She then carefully moved her arm around his slim waist, careful not to injure him farther, feeling his body tense up. She chose to ignore it and drape his arm over her shoulders, then motioned for him to brace himself, which he did, and helped him stand. She could feel his body flinch in pain, which caused her to frown, but once again ignored it as she started helping him over to a nearby tree - bringing the clothing with her, still clenched in her hand. Once they reached the tree, she leaned him against it and gave him one of her famous grins; "Do you think you can handle this by yourself?"

He nods and motions for her to leave, she returned the nod and started walking to the edge of the lake. She stopped at the very end of the shore and sat down, observing the stilled water for a moment. To be honest, she was slightly surprised by the silver; he was not nearly as aggressive and cruel as before. Hell, he'd hardly said anything since she told him to be quite, much to her surprise, he was being quite polite. She remembered what he was like, at least, what she had heard about him - how cruel he was, torturing the Turks, and attempting to bring back that psycho Sephiroth. She reminded herself that he succeed in bring back Sephiroth, only for Cloud to slaughter him again - worthless but still quite evil, maybe Aerith had been right.

"Miss..." Kadaj's voice gently called out, "I'm done..."

"Alright, coming!" She hopped up and jogged over to the boy, who had moved from behind the tree to the front of it. She wasn't surprised at the sight she witnessed once she took in the silver's appearance. He looked like he was drowning in the clothes that she stole from Cloud, who was much larger then the boy. Still, when she reached the silver, she wrapped an arm around his waist and placed one of his arms over her shoulders. She asked if he was ready, which he nodded to slowly, and the two began their way over to edge of the water.

Once there - and with some struggle - she helped him seat himself on the ground, then gently flopped down next to him while gazing at him out of the corner of her eye. Much to her surprise, when she sat down, he leaned over and against her carefully. She knew he was just using her for support right now, but it was kind of cute and innocent; is this really the remnant that Cloud fought weeks ago? "Kadaj?"

He didn't speak, only glanced up at her with curious eyes. She found herself grinning like a child at this point, observing him before finding her tongue once more. "Are you hungry by any chance?"

"A little..."

"Got it," she replied to his quiet answer and gently pushed him up straight and stood. She could feel his aura, which only produced a pitiful feeling of abandonment - she almost felt like a horrible person in that moment. She slowly shook her head, letting him know that she wasn't leaving, holding up her pointer finger for him to give her one minute. She witnessed a small nod from the boy before turning on her feels, heading over to her bag once more. She grabbed it up and started back over to him, sitting down and digging through the contents of the pack. She found herself smiling; "I have something in here for us to eat."

He leaned against her once more, trying to spy what was in the object the girl was digging through. "What is it?"

"Just gimme a second, sheesh," she teased as she continued her action. "I hope you like it though. You're going to have to tell me what you like to eat, so I can get it for ya until you're able to get around by yourself."

"I'm not picky."

She flashed a smirk and gave the boy a nod, then wrapped her fingers around two boxes in her bag. She pulled out the objects and handed one to the silver male, which he takes with a curious look in his eyes. She didn't speak and only set hers out in front of her and opened the container; revealing a few rice balls and a sandwich, probably the one without meat. She noticed out of the corner of her eye that Kadaj blinked a few times and sat up straight, opening his own box that contained the same as the ninja's. "Do you like it or not?"

"Did you make these," he questioned in a quiet tone.

"No way," she shook her head with a sheepish smile. "I stole these from the table on my way out. Tifa probably made them for Denzel and Marlene."

"Won't she be mad?"

"Probably but it doesn't matter," she confessed. "You need it more then they do. Besides, I'm a super awesome thief, she won't know it was me - I'm too good."

"Thanks," he closed his eyes and gave her a light smile.

"No Problem," She found herself blushing at his cuteness. She watched as he opened his eyes once more and slowly picked up a rice ball. He began to nibble at it as his smile widened, making Yuffie wonder if this was seriously the same boy that Cloud fought. That Kadaj was cruel and selfish, this boy was almost innocent and kind of sweet. It just seemed impossible that he was really Kadaj, and what surprised her the most was how he warmed up to her. This was the first person who didn't treat her like a child or like a nuisance; who knew that the great ninja Yuffie would find herself in a situation like this.

* * *

Author's Note: _I didn't think that I would like this pairing, but this idea came to when I was reviewing some of my work on another site. I decided that I couldn't help myself and this came out. It's a rewrite of the original piece, which will never see this site. It's a three part fic, much like my Rod/Shotgun fic, but it's much more fluffy and what not. Enjoy?  
_


	2. The Middle

Disclaimer: I do not claim to own anything in this fan fiction. They belong to their respected owners. If you think I do own this, then I will have Two Guns shoot you in the ass. :]  
Pairing: Kadaj/Yuffie.  
Warning: AU. Very Fluffy and innocent. Not much else, but you might need to be completely mad to understand it. :)  
Summary: The Cetra forced her to take the enemy under her wing and to help him, at least, that's what she would tell anyone who found out.

* * *

..::Two of Three::..

..::Innocence of a Child::..

* * *

"How has Kadaj been?"

The Cetra's image appears sitting back to back with the young ninja, yellow and whtie flowers appearing around the two. Chocolate brown eyes lighten up at the sight, Yuffie brushing her slender fingers over one of the flowers nearby as she feels another joining them. Still, she moves her gaze ahead and leans back against the woman's back behind her. "He's doing really well, I can tell he's getting his strength back. He can walk on his own now, but I'm sure you already know that."

"And you were worried," Zack snickers from his spot next to them - his back resting against the females' shoulders.

Yuffie rolls her eyes, "I was worried he was going to kill me! He was a bad guy remember!"

"I told you not to," Aerith giggles.

"Well... after he woke up, I didn't have to worry about it." Yuffie confesses to her two dead allies, "But what I'm more worried about is now that he's getting his strength back, what's going to happen to him?"

Zack answers, in a clueless tone, "He's going to be strong again?"

"That's not what I meant," the ninja retorted with a sigh. "Stupid man."

Zack cried out, "That was rude!"

"I'll show you rude - "

"You're worried about what Cloud is going to do when he sees Kadaj," Aerith breaks in with a serious tone. "Aren't you, Yuffie?"

Yuffie's anger disappears as she nods at her friend. "Yeah, I mean, Kadaj is so different from what I remember. He's not cruel and rude, childishly mean, or anything!"

"We told you," Zack grins at the small ninja. "You should really start - "

"Oh, shut up, Zack!"

"Calm down," Aerith giggled at the two. "However, Yuffie, you shouldn't worry so much. Kadaj will be fine, as long as he remained in your care."

"But what if," the ninja paused for a moment as she sat forward slightly in thought. "What if he doesn't want my help anymore?"

Zack shifts and turns serious, "Should we tell her?"

"I dunno," Aerith answers in a small tone.

"Tell me what?" She glanced over her shoulder to see the two exchanging glances, her heart beginning to thump against her ribcage. This didn't seem very good, at least to the young ninja, mostly due to the fact that Zack actually turned serious. He almost never does that unless it is something bad, the gears in Yuffie's head turning. She wondered if Kadaj wanted to kill her when she was no longer useful to him, wondered if Cloud already knew about Kadaj being there and was planning to kill him. The 'what if' situations were running wild through the girl's mind and turning her stomach even at the simplest thought.

"Kadaj has been better for a week now," Zack finally blurts out.

Yuffie snapped out of her thoughts and stared; "Huh?"

"Nice Zack," Aerith sighed.

"Shut up," the ex-SOLDIER whines a bit, "I couldn't hold it in anymore!"

The pink clothed woman stands slowly, ignoring her lover's whining and childish nature. "Kadaj's body is different then others. Those wounds would have taken far longer for a normal being to heal, if they didn't die from them, but Kadaj healed in one."

"With Aerith's help of course," Zack added proudly, earning him a glare from the women. "Sorry."

"Wait," Yuffie blinked, "So you're telling me he faked it for a week?"

Aerith nodded, "Mhm."

"Why would he do that?"

Zack slaps his forehead, groaning teasingly. "The innocence of a child is bliss."

"What's that supposed to mean," Yuffie glared at the man.

"We're ending this now. If you want to find out, then you'll just have to take a look at the facts," Aerith giggled and winked at the ninja. "Or just ask Kadaj, whichever."

"But - "

"Now wake up, silly."

"Yeah," Zack grinned as he hopped to his feet. "See ya, Kid!"

Aerith waves, "Bye-bye, Yuffie."

Yuffie didn't want them to go, she reached out to stop them but both disappeared with the scene around her - the girl waking with a start. Her body jolted up and her eyes scanning over the bedroom that Tifa had given her to stay in. She released a sigh and turned her gaze to a nearby alarm clock, noticing the time and slipped out of bed. It was time to get something ready for lunch with Kadaj, or as she told Tifa and company, that she had important business to take care of and needed a packed lunch for. "You better not be planning anything, Aerith - you've _forced _me into enough."

* * *

Author's Note: _You don't have to tell me - I can't write Zack to save my life. Why do you think I don't write for the Zack pairings I support? I hope it was good - the last part should be coming out soon. ♥  
_


	3. The End

Disclaimer: I do not claim to own anything in this fan fiction. They belong to their respected owners. If you think I do own this, then I will have Two Guns shoot you in the ass. :]  
Pairing: Kadaj/Yuffie.  
Warning: AU. Very Fluffy and innocent. Not much else, but you might need to be completely mad to understand it. :)  
Summary: The Cetra forced her to take the enemy under her wing and to help him, at least, that's what she would tell anyone who found out.

* * *

..::Three of Three::..

..::Innocence of a Child::..

* * *

Yuffie smiled as she pushed the doors to the church open, waving over her shoulder to thank Cloud for the ride. Of course, she had told him that she was here to take care of Aerith's flowers, but in reality, she had moved Kadaj to this location once he regained a bit of his strength. She would have walked here but she didn't want Kadaj to be waiting on her, she was late by half an hour, and Cloud was going by the church so it all worked out. He had been a bit hesitate to take her there, claiming that she was up to no good, but Tifa had given him a look that clearly read that if he didn't, she would probably cut him off from the nightly activities that Yuffie could hear them having, and he changed his mind about the situation.

She stepped inside the church and closed the door behind her, glancing around for the silver haired teen. Expecting him to be investigating the flowers, like he had been for the past few days, she was surprised to see him sitting on one of the wooden pews. She sneakily approached the green eyed young man, observing his behaviors which astonished her more then seeing him anywhere other then next to the bright colored blossoms. The man's hands were folded in front of him and resting on his lap, his head was lowered and eyes seemed to be closed — oddly enough it appeared that he was praying or something. Yuffie blinked a few times while slipping a hand on her hip; "Kadaj?"

"Huh," he glanced over his shoulder at her, "Oh, Yuffie."

"Yup," she grinned while bouncing to the spot next to him, sitting. Her coffee colored eyes scanned over his ashen expression, realizing how young he looked in the middle of this. She had thought it before, when he was fighting Cloud, that he looked too young for battle. It had probably been the same thing that many thought about her, maybe that was why she was beginning to feel this odd closeness to him. "Brought you some stuff, big guy!"

"Really," he blinked as he tilted his head, watching her fling her bag in front of her and begin to dig through it. "Did you bring me more chocolates?"

"Tifa said that having chocolate everyday is bad for you, so I figured that I wouldn't poison you… yet!" She gave a sly smile as she tugged out a change of clothes for the boy in his late teens, tossing them to him before turning back to her bag and pulling out two lunch boxes. "Just clothes and food, big guy! Hope you like the lunch I brought, Tifa made it like normal after I begged and pleaded."

The boy took both and scanned over the box, "What did she make this time?"

"Remember what I made the first time," she pauses as he nods in agreement. "Well its that!"

He smiled oddly, "Good!"

"Mhm," she returned the smile as they both opened the boxes and began to feast of the food inside. She watched him out of the corner of her eye, slowing down her eating as she realized how his body no longer trembled from weakness. She noticed how his movements were fluid, much like they had been when he fought Cloud, and how the color had long since returned to his face. She mentally cursed herself from not noticing this sooner, biting her lip at the thought of what to do now—he was better, he would get bored soon being here and at some point she had to return back to Wutai. Still the young ninja did not want to consider any of those things just yet, she still wanted to have to take care of him; even if she didn't want to admit it. "Kadaj, what did you do today?"

"This lady came into the church today, to talk to me," he answered as he shoved a riceball into his mouth, chewing it up quickly. Yuffie noted how unconsidered he seemed by the thought that someone other then her had visited him, just innocently munch away at the food that she had brought him. It frightened her. "The lady from the life stream."

"What lady from the life stream," she questioned quickly, studying him carefully.

"The one who told me that she would give me to someone, who could stop the pain," He answered while poking at a rice ball, almost like he was embarrassed to admit that he had been in any sort of agony. "The one in the pink."

She whispered in shock, "Aerith…"

"Yeah," he nodded instantly at the sound of the name. "That's her, Yuffie."

Yuffie felt her heart racing, "What'd she want?"

"She helped me understand," he answered with slight uncertainty.

The ninja blinked; "Huh?"

Oddly enough, the young silver does not answer the ninja, he only places his meal box next to him on the pew. He turned his body slightly and leaned forward, towards the young ninja that had been caring for him, a gentle look in his childish—but deadly—green eyes. The ninja stiffened slightly while everything processes within her brain, realizing that more and more it appeared that Kadaj was going to kiss her. Just the thought causes her cheeks to heat up, though the heat rises as she notices how close his lips are to hers. He whispers, "She helped me understand why I continue this act… she assisted me in understanding all these thoughts that I seem to have developed, little ninja."

"Wh-what," she swallows hard in embarrassment. "Wh-what ar-are you ta-talking ab-about?"

"Don't laugh stupid," he responses before doing the unthinkable. His lips press against hers, she could feel the warmth and demanding nature of the remnant, his arms snaking around her waist and pulling her close to deepen the lip lock. Her eyes gently close, she leans forward and returns the kiss to the young male. It might not have been everything that Yuffie always thought her first kiss would be but it was sweet and gentle, although held a demanding and sensational spirit to it. His touch was very simple, the way his fingers massaged at her back to keep her in place, it was passionate and wise for a young being, yet there was still an uncertainty to what he was doing. It was obviously something new to them both, yet both were too stubborn to admit it.

The bliss that Kadaj started was also ended by the silver, much to Yuffie's dismay, as he pulled away from the young ninja and caught her gaze. Both were breathing a bit heavily, neither obviously used to being cut off from oxygen for any long length of time, especially by another person in such a manner. Still the silver kept his gaze locked with hers, his ashen lips twitching upward into an almost curious yet chilling smirk. "Kisaragi…?"

"Kadaj," she bit her lip—looking about thirteen.

"You didn't like it," he questioned quietly, his smirk fading from his ashen expression. "You would prefer it to be that red eyed man, no?"

"No," she disagreed; Vincent had been the last person on her mind during that, truth be told. "That's not it!"

His smirk returned to him instantly, "So you love me too?"

"What," Yuffie's jaw dropped as her face heated up. "I-I-I-!"

"I will take that as a yes," he announced proudly. He didn't seem bothered by the fact that Yuffie sat there, mouth gapped open and eyes widened to the size that made her possibly look like a cartoon. "You are now mine and no one else is allowed to have you. You will never leave me alone, Yuffie Kisaragi."

"Why I—" The little ninja stopped her rant once she realized that she wasn't angry, her expression softened and eyes drifted to the side. "I would never leave you, Kadaj, no matter what."

Standing in the doorway of the church, bright lights behind them, were the figures of two beings that were watching the scene play out. Aerith standing in front of the door with a bright smile on her face, Zack is nearby and leaning against the doorframe with one of his famous smirks on his face. Yuffie senses them as she feels Kadaj pull her into an embrace, his head resting against her shoulder, and turns her gaze over to the two. She watches as Aerith places a finger to her lips and gives a small wink, then turns and walks through the door; probably exiting to the Life Stream. Zack, on the other hand, pushes off the wooden frame and grins childishly. He speaks quietly, doubtlessly for the first time in his life, "The innocence of a child."

Just as he gives a wink to the two, Kadaj oblivious to his presence, Aerith's small hand reaches through the doorway. Grabbing the back of his uniform, the young cetra pulls her lover through the open doors and into the light, despite his protests. Yuffie smiles at the sight and resists the urge to shake her head, only to rest it against the silver head on her shoulder. She moves her arms around the comforting form that has her locked in a protective embrace; everything is too blissful to break with questions and concerns of how this was going to work out. Besides, Yuffie liked to live in the present—and she had a feeling that was how things were going to work out from now on.

* * *

Author's Note: _The last part and it's not that wonderful. However, we finally get to see a moment of pure embarrassment for Kadaj and Yuffie, well Yuffie anyway. I gave Kadaj a bit more of the personality we love from him; his demanding and childish nature that is. Once again, I still don't think I can write Zack. *insert embarrassed laugh here* No matter what everyone said, Zack is such a pain to write. I might make another KadajxYuffie one shot or something. Not entirely sure. (: Hope it was enjoyable!  
_


End file.
